Snapshot based backups have been in play for some time and are gaining traction at a swift pace. There are different snapshot based backup methods. Each of these methods has specific use cases. For example, if data changes less frequently, SNAP method may be recommended. On the other hand, if data changes often, clone or mirror may be preferred.
Currently, the choice of snapshot based backups may be made manually based on experience or random approaches. The manual approach has several drawbacks. First, data change rate may fluctuate. Having a fixed snapshot method may not be ideal or optimized over time. For example, SNAP may be a good choice on a day when data changes very little, but may not be optimal next day, when the data change rate is more than 50%. Further, on a day when there is no or very few data changes, unnecessary snapshots may waste system resources. Second, different method may require different configuration, such as different pairing source and target devices pairing and provisioning, among others. Manual configuration may not keep up. Especially relative to traditional backups, it is common for snapshots to be taken with higher frequency. For example, some snapshot operations may be configured to run every 15-30 minutes. It is impractical to examine the data change rate, then manually choose snapshot method and configure a backup system every 15-30 minutes. Thus, traditional approach of managing snapshot based backups without any intelligence built-in is both inadequate and inefficient.
There is a need, therefore, for an intelligent snapshot based backup method and system.